Sabbatical for Cartoonist With Alleged Spy History

By: Dave Astor Political cartoonist Ranan Lurie, whose recent novel raised questions about whether he has also been a spy, is taking a year-long sabbatical from the drawing board to continue writing partly autobiographical fiction.

Lurie told E&P today that he will use the 12 months to complete the second novel and write the third novel in "The Cartoonist's Mask" series. He plans to feature his alter ego "Eric Lurie" in a total of six books.

The first novel caused a big stir when a Hebrew-language edition was published in Israel earlier this spring. People wondered whether Ranan, like the fictional Eric, has been a spy for Israel's Mossad and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. In an April interview with E&P, Lurie denied being a spy but also said he wouldn't admit it if he was (see E&P, April 16). "The Cartoonist's Mask" will be available in English later this year.

Lurie, whose first cartoon was published in 1948, said the sabbatical will last until May 26, 2005. Why the break? "I'm a great believer in focusing," he replied. "There's simply a conflict here between different kinds of concentration." Lurie said he will spend the coming months "in the world of history and imagination" rather than focusing on the news as much as he usually does. But, Lurie emphasized that he's not permanently leaving political cartooning -- especially at a time when global events are so important that "international affairs are really domestic affairs."

Now based in New York City, Lurie is flying to Israel tonight for a 10-day trip that will include appearances to discuss "The Cartoonist's Mask." His ties to Israel include military ones (serving as an intelligence officer, pilot, and paratrooper) and journalistic ones (working as staff political cartoonist for Israel's "Yedioth Aharonoth" newspaper from 1956 to 1967 before moving to various other papers and magazines around the world).

Several hundred papers -- most of them outside the U.S. -- subscribe to Lurie's cartoons. "I'm very grateful to my clients, especially the ones who stuck with me for 25 or 30 years," he said. "I hope to see them back."